This article relates to Australia's Hidden Valley with reporter Oliver Steeds
As you drive into Hidden Valley, one of the 18 town camps in Alice Springs, the first thing that strikes you is a large sign at the entrance. It states that alcohol is banned there, one of a number of emergency measures introduced by the Howard Government in 2007 in what's become known as the Intervention.
The ban is clearly not working. The ground surrounding many houses is littered with empty beer cans and broken bottles. Most people spoke openly to us about the impact it had on the community - disease, domestic violence, drink driving, fights and robbery. Our greatest challenge was to look beyond the impact, beyond the band-aid solutions of increased policing and racially discriminatory laws to the actual causes.
Through one man's fight with alcohol, I was given a rare glimpse of what it takes to break that cycle. Frazer Magaranka, now in his 40s has been drinking since he was a teenager. Over the years he has lost countless friends and family to the 'grog' (the local word for alcohol). A few years ago, he was involved in yet another run in with the law, an alcohol-fuelled brawl at the town's Australian Rules Football ground, Traegar Park. He was arrested and charged, with a 12month jail sentence expected.
Instead, the Judge tried a different approach and put him on a 10-week CAAPUA course (Central Australian Aboriginal Alcohol Programs Unit), asking him to return to court on completion.
Back in court, the transformational change that had occurred on the course was his witness and the judge gave him a two year suspended sentence. "It was my lucky day", he told us, "I just want to go back to Hidden Valley and look after my family there."
He has not touched the grog since. "What's important for me now, is to be sober, be happy and be with my family because we've been missing all these good things like going hunting, going out in the bush - all that was gone." For Frazer returning to the source of his cultural identity has been the basis of his rehabilitation.
We were with him the day he was finally given his driving license back, five years after it was removed from repetitive drink-drive violations. There are few smiles I have seen like his (see photo). His restored pride and strength beaming after years being destroyed by the grog that still rots much of his community.
Today Frazer works with the local Aboriginal Tangenyere Council, helping others with their alcohol addictions. His message is a simple one: "I've seen many young people like me, coming out of prison for a week and then they're back inside for another year." It's an ongoing fight. Despite making up only 2.5% of the population, Aboriginal people make up 25% of the prison population.
Frazer believes that restoring and strengthening Aboriginal culture can help break the cycle: "Instead of going back to prison", he told us, "you have to be with your families, go back to your communities, stay, hold the culture in your heart. Grog is not our culture...".
